Sunday Stills: Food

Happy New Year everyone!

This year is going to be about identifying problems and finding efficient solutions. Not surprisingly, some of my 2010 goals are organization and follow-through. For the last five years my large book collection has been cataloged and shelved in Library of Congress order. I have no trouble finding my books.

However chaos still reigns wherever there is no system in place, or the system fails from lack of follow-through. If something has a place and you are not inclined to put it there, the system is probably too complex or at least not convenient enough. One of these failed systems was our spices.

Growing up the food we ate was exceedingly bland because my mother, who had lived through the Great Depression, thought the handful of spices we owned were so expensive we must use them sparingly. As we saved them for special occasions, they lost their potency. I did not enjoy eating and couldn't fathom why most people thought it was so pleasurable. When processed mixes like Hamburger Helper and Shake 'N Bake came out I thought they were a godsend!

As an adult--and nearly a life-long vegetarian--I use a wide array of spices in my daily cooking. I had successfully kept the store bought jars in alphabetical order on two lazy susans on a shelf in the pantry until I got married. Since we hang out together when we cook, in our narrow kitchen this always required one of us to move out of the way to get into the pantry, which is at the other end, the farthest from the stove. Spices might accumulate next to the stove, or if they did make it back to their place might not end up in the right order depending on who was chef. We would end up buying duplicates (and sometimes triplicates!) because the original one could not be located.

So for Christmas, a new solution: magnetic canisters from Concept Kitchen stuck to the side of the refrigerator.

I printed labels on magnetic paper from the office supply store. The canisters have both a sprinkle and pour mode, or you can just take off the lid and use a spoon which actually fits inside. They are within easy reach of the stove and there's no doubt where they go. This has opened up a shelf to house other foods that had once cluttered the counters. So far I'm pleased with how the system is working.

What organizational challenges are you planning to tackle this year? For more food photos, visit Sunday Stills.